Rail-joint supporter



4 0. B..McKENZlE RAIL JOINT SUPPORTER.

APPLICATION. FILED FEB. 13, I922.

Patented Nov. 28, 1922.

Patented Nov. 28, 1922.

DANIEL BURCH MQKENZIE, OF EUFAULA, ALABAMA.

RAIL-JOINT SUPPORTER.

Application filed February 13, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL BURCH Mo- KnNzIn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Eufaula, county of Barbour, and State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rail-Joint Supporters, of which the following is a specification.

Railway rails always give trouble at the joints because a joint is necessarily weaker than the rest of the rail and so when a train runs over a track there is a constant bending of the rails at the joints which causes a great deal of trouble.

The object of my invention is to overcome this trouble by preventing the bending and this is done by placing a wedge on the ground and under each joint which wedges are driven hard so that the joints are perfectly supported over a wide area of ground and will not be weaker than the rest of the track so that when a train passes over the track there will be no bending of the rails at the joints. This and other objects are accomplished by my invention, one embodiment of which is hereii'iaftcr more particularly set forth.

For a more detailed description of my invention, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of a portion of a track embodying my invention, and

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.

Throughout the various views of the drawings, similar reference characters designate similar parts.

A track 1, provided with my improvement, is laid on the ground 2 and either with or without rock ballast. Each sleeper 3 rests in the conventional manner and carries a rail at of the usual type which are held by spikes 5, or any other suitable means, as lag screws. The rails 4 are united by fish plates 6 which are held in the conventional manner by bolts 7. All the aforementioned parts are the old and well known applied to each joint or to Serial No. 536,098.

parts used in ordinary railroad track construction and are usually found in street railroads as well, although the rails may be of diflerent cross sections, according to the desires of those responsible for the design of the track.

In the practice of my invention, I provide each joint with a wedge 8 which is driven on the ground 2 and with a large surface resting thereon corresponding to the part of a. cross tie which would support one rail, or nearly so, and the top of this wedge is large and fiat and has a full bearing on the end side of the joint to which it is attached. This wedge is driven hard and carefully so as to give the joint a firm and good support and to force the ballast under adjacent ties, so that when the track is in use, the joint will as the rest of the track. This wedge 8 is as many joints as desired, and preferably to each joint.

In its practical application, the Wedge fills the space or nearly so, between the adj acent ties and when work of any kind about these ties, or their removal, is necessary, the wedge, on account of its shape, can be easily removed and replaced. when the work is finished.

While I. have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that it is not restricted thereto, but that it is broad enough to cover all structures that come within the scope of the annexed claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

In a track construction, a road bed with sleepers mounted thereon, rails mounted on the sleepers, a joint between two rails and a wedge engaging a substantial area of the road bed and supporting the joint so that the same is rigidly supported directly from the ground.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of February, 1922.

DANIEL BURCH MQKENZIE.

be as rigidly supported 

